Walk #73: Devizes to Wooton Rivers

General Data

A nice day of canal walking, this time with no stoppages to worry about.

Pack

Full Pennine Way kit.

Condition

My energy levels are fine, and I found the 15-mile distance no problem. The underside of my feet, however, are suffering badly. They feel as if they have been continusly hit from underneath with cricket bats.

Weather

An overcast day, with occasional glimpses of sunshine through the cloud. It did not rain except for a short shower after Pewsey.

Map of the walk

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Maps courtesy of Google Maps. Route for indicative purposes only, and may have been plotted after the walk. Please let me have comments on what you think of this new format.
For a detailed table of timings for this walk, please see the table file.

Notes

A nice day which I finished in plenty of time despite a relatively (for me) late start. Early on in the day's walk the underside of my feet started aching and this aching did not let up until my bath fter I had got to my B&B for the night.

Today's walk was 15 miles of very easy canal towpath walking - I had time to walk further, but my feet were suffering towards the end of the day. Highlights of the day were the White Horse carved on the hillside north of All Cannings and the picturesque village of Wooton Rivers, where nearly every house is thatched.

This B&B is very nice (although relatively expensive), and I am still about 7 miles ahead of my schedule. I am considering spending tomorrow night in Kintbury (between Hungerford and Newbury), or at Newbury itself (at 19 miles perhaps a bit too far . It will all depend on the state of my feet.

The local accent is absolutely delicious - one of the barmaids at the Royal Oak sounds like a real country bumpkin with a very thick but lovely accent. As I drunk my pint I reflected on the fact that I could live in a village like this, and indeed it has been used for filming television series in the past.

On the other hand, another barmaid told me that in the sixties and seventies Wooton Rivers was known as the most incestuous village in England, and in the eighties it was in the papers as the wife-swapping centre of the country. I find it hard to believe it of such a lovely village, but on the other hand everyone in the village did seem very close and friendly, so who knows?

Directions

This was a simple walk following the Kennet and Avon canal eastwards from Devizes passing though All Cannings, Honeystreet and Pewsey. Navigation was simple; I just had to follow the canal. The towpath starts on the southern side of the canal; at ST113607 it crosses over onto the northern bank, and at Bristow Bridge (ST150614) it seaps back over to the southern side once more. It remains on the soutehrn bank until Wooton Rivers is reached.

Distances

From

To

Distance (m)

Ascent (ft)

Descent (ft)

Devizes

Honeystreet

7.7

125

128

Honeystreet

Wooton Rivers

7.2

279

249

This makes a total distance of 14.9 miles, with 404 feet of ascent and 377 feet of descent.

Disclaimer

Please note that I take no responsibility for anything that may happen when following these directions. If you intend to follow this route, then please use the relevant maps and check the route out before you go out. As always when walking, use common sense and you should be fine.

If you find any information on any of these routes that is inaccurate, or you wish to add anything, then please email me.

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